balletLORENT - la nuit intime

"la nuit intime is a series of intimate exchanges where the interplay between the dancers is in turn sensual, funny and moving. Setting la nuit intime in nightclubs and live music venues allows us to create an underground world of dance where the audience experience is as important as the performance. They are invited to drink and relax as the evening unfolds before them and to join us and lose themselves in the dance."
Liv Lorent, Choreographer http://www.balletlorent.com/index.php?lanuit (accessed on 2.11.2011)

This week we have been to see the performance of balletLORENT's la nuit intime. When entering Dance city I had formerly been on edge to what we were about to go see as I had seen clips on the internet before hand, and I felt it was completely abstract and different to anything I had ever seen previously at Dance City. However as I approached the dance Lab with an open mind, I was in shock when I walked in to find the space with such a unique lay out, materializing the feeling of a 'sultry' night club. As a huge fan of Liv Lorent’s work I was eager to see what movement had been created. From the eccentric settings and the imaginative costumes I was completely taken back by the contrasting choreography and styles of dance. A section to comment on that particularly stood out for me in relation to this module was a fast paced almost ‘barn dance’ element to the choreography that placed a huge emphasis on foot work. As I know in some aspects of my technique and during classes that footwork is something I need to improve on. It was great to see a professional dancer in a company demonstrate how it should be directly in front of me. The sharpness and definition of the dancers pointed foot was emphasised through the quick paced and strong leg gestures, allowing her Pointe to change direction effortlessly. As well as other strong elements such as pose turns, really demonstrated how strong the dancers were and how unforced the movement came across. Thus posed a question to myself of am I using my strength to its full maximum during classes?

Overall the show had too much potency to comment on everything element of movement, however I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also beneficial to see how important is to give your utmost energy during class even with the smaller exercises that focus on footwork to be really challenging yourself as a dancer and to improve overall your technique. The thought of this performance will be in my head for the next few weeks so that I stride even more to improve.